Never What it Seems
by Blondedramaqueen
Summary: The James siblings are in for the time of their life a year after hearing shocking news that threatens to distroy their family. The story follows Brooke, Haley, Jake, Taylor, and Chris a year after they hear the news. Summary sucks, it will get good!
1. Prologue

Author:BDQ

Pairings: Nathan/Haley, Brooke/Lucas, Jake/Peyton,

Disclaimer: I don't own it, nor anything!

Summary: The James siblings are in for the time of their life a year after hearing shocking news that threatens to distroy their family. The story follows Brooke, Haley, Jake, Taylor, and Chris a year after they hear the news.

**Prologue**

Haley rolled her eyes and went to answer the phone as she saw no one else in her family was going to, even though Brooke was sitting right beside it.

They were spending "quality sibling time" together, although none of them had said anything to each other in the past half hour. Brooke was sitting on the floor giving herself a French manicure, Jake was currently on his cell phone having yet another fight with his girlfriend Nikki, Chris was playing his guitar trying to compose a song, and Haley had been studying for a Calculus exam she had the following week. There older sister Taylor was noticeable absent as she was "working" and could not make it.

The James siblings were forced to give up one hour each Sunday and spend time together. There parents wanted them to be more like the Brady Bunch and less like the dysfunctional family they were. Of course there parents were always absent on Sundays and pretty much every other day of the week.

They were an interesting bunch to say the least. There father Kevin James was the leading signer in the chart topping band "Crash". He had several platinum albums and spent the majority of his youth touring; at one concert he met Victoria Davis. There mother was the legendary party girl, the Paris Hilton of her time, Victoria Davis. Two months into there whirlwind romance they decided to get married, making headline around the world. They took the money from Kevin's success and Victoria's trust fund and settled down in Tree Hill, North Carolina, 8 months later their first daughter was born.

Taylor James was the oldest of the James siblings. She was 21 and was known around town for her wild ways. She was her parent's biggest disappointment to say the least. She was a college dropout (she lasted one semester), unemployed (fired from her last three jobs), and has a wild party habit (she's been in and out of rehab since she was 18). She does live in Tree Hill with her best friend Nikki Smith (who is the mirage image twin of Taylor's personality), although she only stops by when she needs to ask mommy and daddy for rent money.

Next is Jake James. Jake is the 18 year old prodigal son. He gets good grades, he is the star power forward for the state champion Tree Hill High Ravens, he is well liked by everyone in town, and he was accepted to the University of North Carolina on a basketball scholarship. Jake also has musical talents like his father, but focuses on basketball instead. He is also a partier, but is less wild then his other siblings. His on again off again girlfriend for the last two years is Nikki Smith. And his best friend is Rachel Gatina.

Brooke James is 17, but her fake ID says she's 22. Brooke is the co-captain of the Tree Hill Ravens squad, being surpassed only by Rachel Gatina (who is a grade above her). She is the identical image of their mother when she was young, even down to the matching dimples, she even inherited her mothers partying ways. She uses guys to get what she wants and the only person she allows to get close to her is her BFF Nathan Scott (who practically lives with them).

Chris James, Brooke's twin brother, is adamant about following in his fathers footsteps. He has been working on a CD under his stage name Chris Keller, and is sure he will be signed to a record label as soon as it is finished. He spends all of his time writing music and hanging out with his friends Peyton Sawyer and Chase Adams.

Haley James is the baby of the family. She is the only James who doesn't have a reputation for being a partier. She spends her free time tutoring or hanging out with Lucas Roe her best friend. Haley can sign, but refuses to do so. She doesn't date and the running joke in the family is she's going to be a nun when she's older.

"James residence Haley speaking." Haley James said picking up the phone that the rest of her family was choosing to ignore. She vaguely heard Chris mocking her from across the room.

"Are you a relative of Kevin and Victoria James?" the person on the other line asked, the tone of his voice instantly alerted Haley that something was wrong.

She gripped the phone tighter in her hand, drawing the attention of her siblings.

"They are my parents."

"I'm sorry to inform you that Kevin and Victoria James were pronounced dead at 11:20 this afternoon….."

Haley immediately dropped the phone and started shaking, she felt her knees give way and she ended up in a heap on the floor beside Brooke.

Brooke immediately gathered Haley in her arms and watched as Jake quickly hung up his cell phone and went to retrieve the phone that Haley dropped. Chris and Brooke shared a confused look as Jake started speaking to the person on the other end. Haley's was trying to explain to Brooke what was said but she was crying too much for it to make sense.

"What's going on?" Chris asked his brother when he saw the expression on his face. Jake just held up a hand to quiet him as he himself could barely make out what the person on the line was saying over Haley's crying.

"Jake?" Brooke asked her eyes welding up with tears as she watched her brother hang up the phone and wraps his arms around both of his sisters.

"Mom and Dad…." He paused and cleared his throat, "there, there dead."

The four James siblings were wrapped in each others embrace. Little did they know then but this would be the last time that things were ever normal for the James family


	2. Taylor

_Thanks so much for the feedback. Basically the story is going to focus on each othe the main people in the order that they are suppose to be in the family. So, Taylor, Jake, Brooke, Chris, and then Haley. After each chapter that has focused on the family then it will get general and couples will be introduced. It's going to be a long fic! There will be a lot of drama. What you have to understand is I want to focus on each character and they one tragic flaw then combind them and let them work it out, if it is even possible at this point in their lives. Feeback is love!_

**One Year Later**

Taylor James was really trying to make things work. She was exhausted. She was mentally, physically and emotionally drained. She would have given just about anything to have been able to go back to her life before she received the news of her parent's death, a time where the only thing Taylor had to worry about was what outfit to where and whose party to attend.

_Taylor James was lazily lying on the sofa in her apartment watching the newest episode of her favorite teen drama that she had TiVoed. She was bored. Her roommate, Nikki Smith, was currently in another heated argument with her younger brother, Jake. Taylor blocked it out, just like she always does when the two of them started fighting. _

_Taylor and Nikki had been friends since there first play date at the age of 5. The James and Smith family were two prominent families in Tree Hill so it was only natural that they would have their children play together. Taylor was closer to Nikki then she ever was to any of her own sisters. They shared the mutual love of shopping, booze, and powdered drugs. _

"_I can't stand your brother!" Nikki yelled slamming the door to her bedroom and storming over to her friend._

_Taylor rolled her eyes as Nikki dramatically threw herself on the sofa beside her. _

"_What did he do now?" Taylor asked, not really interested. Nikki of course did not pick this up._

"_He hung up on me! Can you believe this?" Nikki looked at Taylor waited for the head shake and then continued on. "One minute we are discussing whether or not we are going to go to Tim Scott's party, the next he hangs up!" _

"_Maybe he lost service?" Taylor suggested half-heartedly. Taylor knew how this conversation worked, Nikki would complain about Jake then 20 minutes later she would be singing his praises. They had the most dysfunctional relationship in North Carolina._

"_I doubt it; he was at the Siblings Night at your house, not like he was climbing Mount Everest." _

"_I forgot about that." Taylor said, even though both Nikki and she knew full well that she did not forget but had chosen not to go. Taylor hated the idea of spending a Sunday evening crammed (as crammed as you could be in the Taylor mansion) in the "family room" of her parent's house, bonding with her younger snot nosed siblings._

"_Whatever, all I know is this time we are finished." Nikki declared, "I've had enough of dating younger men and I think it is time for me to start dating a real man." _

_Taylor nodded; she had heard this statement at least once a week for the past two years. Nikki was about as likely to dump Jake, as Tree Hill was to become the capital of North Carolina. Nikki thought she needed Jake, and Nikki was already shopping for houses in Chapel Hill for when Jake moved to start school in the fall. _

_They sat in silence watching the TV, until Taylor's cell phone started ringing. She glanced briefly at the screen and saw that it was her brother. _

"_It's Jake." Taylor said flashing the screen to Nikki._

_Nikki rolled her eyes and waited to hear Jake's excuse for not calling her back. _

"_Hey loser!" Taylor said flipping the phone open, "Heard you hung up on my bestie, if you weren't my brother I'd so have to hurt you" _

"_Taylor." Jake's reply was enough to wipe the smile immediately off Taylor's face. _

"_What's wrong?" _

"_It's mom and dad, they were in an accident on their way to that charity event in Charlotte." _

"_Are they okay? What hospital are they at?" _

"_Tay, they um, well the doctor said they died on impact. That um, well they didn't feel anything and there was nothing that could be done."_

_Taylor stayed silent trying to process what her brother said. She was unaware that she was holding onto Nikki hand so hard her fingernails were leaving imprints. _

"_Taylor?" _

"_Okay, your serious Jake, this isn't some joke because I didn't come to Sibling's Night?"_

"_I wish I were." For the first time Taylor realized her brother was crying. Taylor had never heard her brother cry since before he turned 12. She could vaguely make out the sound of her sisters wailing in the background. _

"_I'm on my way." Taylor hung up her phone and went straight to where she kept her car keys. Taylor had always resented her parents, hated them for the way they pushed her into being someone she wasn't. And now they were gone. _

It had been 12 months since Taylor got the call that shattered her perfect existence. It had been 12 months since she moved back into her childhood home. It had been 12 months since she found a job and started working to help out around the house.

Her parents were rich, they could have afforded to buy their own private island somewhere, but their children were not. Their trust funds were locked away until they turned 25. Taylor was the eldest and she had to wait three more years before she would be able to touch the millions that her parents had left her.

They were living off a monthly stipend that their Uncle Cooper sent. Cooper, Victoria's brother, was left guardianship over the children. He'd show up once a month, hand Taylor an envelope full of cash, and then headed off to another exotic location where he was spending his time with his new flavor of the day. Cooper handed guardianship over to Taylor in everything except the legal documents. Taylor, a two time prosecuted cocaine offender, would not have stood a chance at gaining custody of her siblings. Cooper couldn't be bothered raising children that weren't his while he was in his prime so he gave Taylor the money and let her run things.

While the money did go along way, it was nowhere near enough to support her four other siblings and the lifestyle they previously had. Taylor had vowed to make things as normal as possible as she could for them so she started working at Bryson and Daniels, she was a legal secretary by day, and working at Karen's Café as a waitress by night. Taylor had never held a job longer then three weeks in her life. She was flakey. She didn't like to work and it took everything she had to drag herself to work everyday.

But like every other bad girl gone good there was bound to be a relapse soon.

"Hey Tay, what are you doing?" Haley James said walking into the kitchen and joining Taylor who was leaning against a counter.

"Just thinking," Taylor said giving her sister a reassuring smile. "How was school?"

"It was good," Haley said reaching for an apple. She knew that while Taylor asked the routine mom like questions (although their mother never had) she really didn't want a long explanation of things she couldn't really care less about.

"Where are Brooke and Chris?" Taylor said while her gaze was focused on the front door.

Before Haley could reply the door flew open and slammed off the wall, the force so hard it sent a family picture that had previously been hanging there shattering to the ground, the unmistakable voice of Brooke James accompanying it.

"You're really a piece of work you know that!" Brooke yelled swinging her purse right in the direction of Chris's face.

"And you're a slut!" Chris yelled back grabbing the purse and tossing it across the room.

"Ha!" Brooke yelled getting right in her brothers face, "At least people are willing to have sex with me, unlike you Mr. Clean Teen."

"I choose to abstain from sex, seeing as you get enough for the whole family!" He yelled stepping closer to Brooke so they were nose to nose.

"Puh-lez, you're not a virgin by choice. No one wants to sleep with your…."

Before Brooke could even finish her reply a baby wailing interrupted her. For a moment she felt guilt, but that guilt immediately turned to anger when she saw her older brother appear on staircase above her.

"What the hell is going on?" Jake was angry, it was unmistakable in his voice. "You woke Jenny up." He said indicating the wailing baby he held in his arms.

Brooke scoffed, turned on her heel and stomped her way to her room.

Chris gave his brother a disgusted looked and stomped to his room.

There was an unmistakable sound of two doors slamming and the same time followed by another sound of glass breaking.

"This is all your fault." Haley said reaching for her backpack and fleeing the room.

She left a flabbergasted Taylor in her wake. Taylor shook her head and went to get the broom; there was nothing more she could do.

…

Taylor was a reformed bad girl, forced into being a good girl. When her parents died she was thrust into a world full of responsibility. Her best friend took off leaving her alone with no one to turn to. While Taylor had a house full of people she felt completely alone. There was too much pressure being put on her. She couldn't take it anymore. She reached for the bottle of sleeping pills her mother had always kept in the medicine cabinet.

_Jake got his high school girlfriend pregnant. He gave up is scholarship to UNC to take care of Jenny after Nikki left town. The once care free boy gave up his dreams and was turning into a bitter old man as each day went on. He was driving his younger siblings away with his verbal abuse; his friends had long since abandoned him. _

Taylor twisted the cap off the bottle and looked inside.

_Brooke had stepped up her partying ways and it was luck if she was sober. She quit cheerleading, a passion she held since elementary school, and have been suspended 5 times in the last year for being under the influence (Principal Turner was giving her a pass do to the tragedy in her life). She was bitchy and lashed out at everyone._

Taylor picked up one of the pills and placed it on her tongue and closed her mouth.

_Chris had given up on his music career. He currently blamed everyone around him for his failure and was cutting himself off more and more with the outside world. He had been in several physical altercations in the past year, one that landed him on probation until he turned 21._

Taylor picked up the glass full of vodka and ice. She laughed as the vodka and the pill slid down her throat.

_Haley's grades were slipping. She was once on the honor roll and now she was barely making the grades to pass. She threw herself into an unhealthy relationship with her abusive boyfriend Flex. She developed also nasty attitude. _

Taylor dumped the rest of the pills into her open palm. She then put them all in her mouth and reached for her glass, taking one big gulp and emptying its contents.

_And Taylor? Well nobody took the time to ask her about her problems. She was lonely, to say the least. There were still nights when she woke up in a cold sweat dreaming about snorting cocaine. She gave up all of her friendships and partying ways to take care of her ungrateful siblings. She was so tired. _

Taylor rested her head against the cold ceramic of the bathtub and cried.

She cried for the family that she wasn't going to be able to save.

She cried for the parents that she lost.

She cried for herself.

Taylor James was alone.

While Jake, Brooke, and Chris were out at the latest Tim Scott party, she was alone.

While Haley was out with Jenny at Lucas's, she was alone.

No one cared for Taylor, and as Taylor was losing consciousness she wondered how long it would be until her siblings even realized she was gone.


	3. Jake

**Jake**

Jake James parked his Range Rover on the street beside the Scotts' beach house. Tim Scott was throwing another one of his famous parties, before his parents' death Jake wouldn't have been caught dead anywhere near Tim Scott, let alone at his party. Tim Scott was his rival; they had been in heated compotation since little league in all thing sports. They both graduated last year, but Jake was the only one to get a basketball scholarship, sending both Dan and Tim over the edge.

Jake didn't even have to bother knocking since the door to the beach house was wide open. There were kegs placed sporadically all over the house and in the front yard. The music was so loud that it violated the Tree Hill noise ordinance, but with Dan Scott being mayor no one even bothered to call the police.

"Hey man!" Nathan Scott yelled rather loudly throwing his arm around Jakes shoulder and stumbling. "Glade you came."

Nathan Scott was the only Scott Jake could stand. Nathan was cocky just like his Dad and brother, but he was an honorary James. Nathan had practically been raised at the James mansion, because his own dead beat parents were never around. Jake also knew that the death of Kevin and Victoria was really hard on Nathan since he also saw them as family.

"Where's Brooke?" Jake asked shaking off Nathan's arm and his attempt to put a plastic cup full of beer in his hand. Jake was angry, but Nathan didn't think anything of it. Jake had been angry ever since the funeral.

Nathan pointed in the direction he had last saw his best friend, although that had been an hour ago.

"Thanks." Jake muttered and went to find Brooke.

The only reason Jake was even at this stupid high school party was because his sister and brother had snuck out of the house. Jake was beyond concerned with the amount of partying Brooke and Chris were doing since they heard of their parents death. Taylor, having partied most of her teenage years away, did not see a problem with them having "fun" and frequently let them do whatever they pleased.

While Taylor was the one in charge of the guardianship, after Cooper, Jake was the one who set the rules. Without him the house would have been destroyed in a month. They all saw him as a jack ass for trying to establish boundaries. But Jake was just trying to get things to normal, or as normal as they could be. Jake was angry that he was having to be the one to clean up the messes of his siblings. Angry that he gave up his future for a bunch of self indulgent children.

Jake scanned the crowd looking for his younger siblings. His eyes were immediately drawn to the curly haired blonde who was drawing in her notebook while seated on the sofa. If she were anyone else she would have been laughed at for being so out of place at a party. But Peyton Sawyer was cheerleading co-captain and well liked by everyone, so no one dared to comment on her party habits.

Peyton Sawyer was his younger brothers' friend, while Chris and Peyton had been friends since Jr High, Jake didn't really know Peyton. Chris, Chase, and Peyton usually went to Peyton's house to hang out, since she also had parents who were never around. He had also been preoccupied with Nikki.

"Where's Chris?" Jake said gruffly startling Peyton.

"I'm not his keeper." Peyton replied not even glancing up from her notebook. Truth be told the only reason she was at this party was to keep an eye on Chris. He was after all her really close friend and she knew he was going through a hard time with his family and his music.

"That's why you're here isn't it?" Jake said leaning closer to Peyton, his voice laced with venom. "To make sure Chris doesn't leave you, because everyone leaves you Peyt. Why isn't Chrisy here with you now? Poor Peyton, no one ever sticks around for you."

Jake didn't know what propelled him to say those things, he hadn't even been thinking. The words came out and for a moment he felt better, that lasted until he saw the pain in Peyton's eyes, the same pain that he had been feeling for the last year.

Peyton's palm collided with Jakes check the second he finished.

"Don't you dare!" Peyton said her voice hard as stone. "You're as ass Jake James and I hope you rot in hell." Peyton stood up quickly and made her way through the crowd of people leaving a shocked James in her wake.

"Nice going there buddy." Rachel Gattina said making her way over to her friend. "Pretty soon you'll have the whole student body hating you."

Jake took the plastic cup from Rachel's hand and drained it in two gulps.

"I guess it's a good thing I don't go to Tree Hill anymore." If there was one thing Jake was good at it was avoidance. He pushed the things he said to Peyton out of his mind; after all she deserved them, right?

Rachel said nothing just stood by her friend. She had been doing a lot of standing by Jake lately. Jake was the only person she could count on in her life and she took his verbal abuse in hopes that one day he would return to his old self. Jake had been her friend since she transferred in her Sophomore year, of course she had tried to land him by playing strip basketball, but Jake was to much of a standup guy to cheat on his girlfriend. He had helped her work on her low self-esteem and was the first friend Rachel had that she didn't slept with.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here? I thought you couldn't get a sitter for Jenny tonight."

Jenny was Rachel's goddaughter, and Jakes daughter. She was the cutest baby, biased opinions aside. She had Jakes dark eyes and Nikki's dark hair. She had perfect facial features. Unfortunately Jenny's mom took off her second day out of the hospital. Left Jenny lying in the middle of the floor with a note on the kitchen table saying she couldn't deal.

"Haley said she'd watch her for a few hours. I'm only here for Chris and Brooke, they snuck out again."

"The drain pipe?" Rachel asked well aware of the James twins and their late night escapades.

"No, I took that down, along with nailing both their windows shut." Jake had exhausted every means he had to keep his siblings in the house. "I don't know how they got out, I went to talk with them, to apologize about something I said earlier in the day and they were gone."

Rachel nodded her head. She had spent enough time with the James's to know that once they put their mind to something they would follow it through no matter what. "I actually saw Brook talking with Tim earlier." Rachel replied, although she was not sure if she did the right thing by telling Jake when she saw the look on his face. "Speak of the devil." Rachel muttered as she saw Brooke appear behind Jake.

"Jakey!" Brooke let out a high pitched yelled and walked towards her brother, grabbing onto Tim for support as she went. "I thought you were at home with the spawn of Satan."

"Brooke…." Rachel started in a warning tone, she knew Brooke hated Jenny with a passion and she knew that Jake was not in the mood to deal with Brooke's comments.

"We're leaving." Jake said tossing the cup on the ground and grabbing his sister's arm.

"Let me go!" Brooke yelled fighting off her brother. "You're not the boss of me."

Jake was well aware that they were causing a scene as even the girl dancing on the table near them was receiving less stares than him.

"Brooke lets go." Jake tugged harder at her arm; he didn't care if he hurt her. He shouldn't have had to be at this party in the first place.

"YOU'RE NOT DAD!" Brooke shrieked ripping her arm away from him. "Stop trying to be, you'll never be like him. Isn't that why Nikki left you? She took one look at you with Jenny and bailed. She bailed because you aren't good enough!" Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was the James temper but Brooke's words shook Jake.

He was angry at her, angry that she would dare bring up Nikki. Before he knew what he was doing he grabbed both of Brooke's arms, his fingers digging into her flesh and shook her. It was like an out of body experience as he watched Brooke's hair whip back and fourth. He watched as he yelled repeatedly for her to shut up. He watched as Brooke's face changed from one of anger to confusion then to pain. He felt Rachel grab onto his arm and tried to pull him away from his sister, he saw her fall to the ground after he shook her off. It was only when Nathan and Tim forced him away from Brooke did he realize what he had just done.

While the exchange lasted all of ten seconds Jake realized what he had done. Judging by the reaction of his sister and best friend he realized he lost them both.

"What the hell is your problem!" Nathan yelled getting in Jake's face. But Jake didn't answer as he was focused on his sister who was being held by his best friend. He watched as Brooke's eyes filled up with tears, watched as Rachel looked at him in pure disgust.

Jake ran. He was angry.

_Angry at Taylor for screwing things up, for not being able to take charge of the situation._

He didn't see the confused look Chris shot him as he darted past.

_Angry at Brooke for her constant hatred for Jenny._

He didn't see the regretful look in Peyton's eyes as he pushed her out of the way.

_Angry at Chris for always taking Brooke's side._

He didn't even bother to look back as Brooke was being led away by Nathan.

_Angry at Haley for her constant lectures._

He didn't see Rachel shake her head in disappointment.

_Angry at Nikki for taking off._

He reached his car and got inside.

_And Jake was angry at himself._

He put his head on the steering wheel and cried. He cried for the first time since he heard of his parents' death. He cried for the way his life turned out. He didn't care that onlookers were staring at him, the great Jake James, in amusement.

He cried because for the first time in a year he realized how angry he truly was.


	4. Brooke pt 1

AN: Contains talk about rape. I want to point out that I am a Criminology major and the issues I bring up here are issues that many people believe and they are wrong about. If you are raped please go to the police or someone for help. While in the past rape victims were not protected by the justice system a lot has changed and victims are being protected. Also this is Brooke pt1. pt2 will features more Brooke as well as Chris. Haley will be the following chapter, then it's on to general with more interaction by everyone.

Brooke

Brooke had to escape, she ran to the one place that made her feel safe. The looks she received after Jake left were not of pity but of triumph, they all thought she deserved it.

You see half of Tree Hill High hates Brooke, it goes beyond jealousy, and it's the people she is around that want to tear her down. After Brooke's parents died she isolated herself, she cut off ties with everyone except Nathan, and the only reason they were still friends was because he refused to leave.

Most girls hate her because she slept with their boyfriends, and if Brooke hadn't made her way to them then the girls knew it was only a matter of time. Brooke likes sex. She likes it hard and rough. She likes to feel pain; it takes her mind off the constant pain that she feels every day. A year ago no one would have believed that Brooke James was a virgin, far from a prude but Brooke decided she was going to safe herself until she met the guy that gave her butterflies.

Brooke's virginity was viciously taken from her the day of her parent's funeral.

_Brooke climbed down the drain pipe that was near her bedroom window, a skill she had mastered on the rare occasion her parents were home and she wanted to go out. Now her parent's weren't home and they were never going to be; her uncle Cooper and his 19 year old Vietnamese girlfriend were there, they were imposing the 9 o'clock school night curfew. Brooke couldn't care less about Cooper and his rules. It's ironic that Cooper of all people is imposing rules when he himself at 25 still was as immature as a hormonal teenage boy. _

_She sprinted across the lawn, ducking out of the view of the house windows and ran straight towards a waiting car._

"_God bitch it took you long enough." Nikki said reapplying her already glossy lips with her lip gloss. _

"_Ashlin cornered me in my room, she wanted to tell me that she was there if I needed anything." Brooke answered rolling her eyes and pulling off the track suit she was wearing to reveal a very short black skirt and yellow tank top. Brooke was practical, this wasn't a movie, girls don't climb out of their windows in short skirts and heels unless they have a death wish._

_Taylor snickered from the back seat causing Brooke to turn and look at her. Brooke could tell the instant she laid eyes on her sister that she was high. Taylor was a chronic cocaine user. She spent all daddies' money on high grade pure cocaine since she turned 16. Given the statistics it was amazing that Taylor hadn't overdosed or been sentenced to jail. No, her convictions only led to probation and a fine. _

"_God you couldn't even wait until we were at the party?" Brooke snarled shooting her sister a dirty look._

"_What's the point in that baby sis." Taylor said fidgeting in the back seat._

"_She's speedballing tonight." Nikki said pulling the car onto the main road away from the James mansion. "Owen came over earlier with some heroin so Tay decided she was going to try something new, and well we know how she always has cocaine on her the two idiots decided to mix it."_

"_Owen? I though they broke up last week?" Brooke said ignoring her sister in the back seat and focusing on Nikki. _

"_They did, but Owen heard about your parents and decided to come over and cheer Tay up." _

"_So he just wanted to make some money?"_

"_Pretty much. It was like the inside of a DEA lockup the amount of drugs he was peddling."_

"_Figures."_

_The rest of the ride was completed in silence by Nikki and Brooke, both were lost in their own thoughts. Taylor on the other hand was yelling loudly with the song on the radio._

_Brooke shook her head and her older sister made up words to the song she clearly didn't know. Brooke and Taylor's relationship was based on parties, drugs, and booze. Brooke felt honored the first time Taylor asked her to come to a college party, she thought she was something special, but now it was a routine. Brooke was most times disgusted by her sister and her lack of class. Taylor would get high in the middle of the street if she wanted, she had sex for drugs, and she would steal from just about anyone who was around to get money for drugs. _

_Brooke was far from perfect but she at least cared about herself. She liked to drink, socially. It was not like she was sneaking vodka in her purse at church. She had standards; she was a virgin but far from being a clean teen. _

"_We're here." Nikki said navigating the car into a parking space._

_As Brooke looked around she noticed it was just like all the other college parties she had been to. They were set up in some run down house, not the Tree Hill mansions her high school parties were held at. _

"_If you two aren't back here by 3 I'm leaving your asses and you can walk back to tree hill." Nikki said jumping out of the car and disappearing into the house. Brooke followed leaving Taylor by herself._

_Sometime after her third beer Brooke started to feel sick. She wasn't drunk yet the room seemed to be spinning. She stumbled trying to make her way to the door for some fresh air but her legs seemed to be paralyzed. _

"_Woah, you okay?" Brooke looked up to see a guy she met briefly ten minutes before as he was handing out drinks. _

_Alarm bells were going off in Brookes head. She tried to clear her mind and spot someone she knew, someone that could help her. Taylor was far to distracted from where she was sitting with a group of people debating politics in Africa with a bunch of other high individuals. Nikki was nowhere to be seen._

"_Here let me help you." He said placing Brooke's arm around his shoulder as he led her up the stairs to the bedrooms._

_Brooke tried to stop, but her muscles were not working. She felt like she was having an out of body experience because she wanted to get as far away from this guy as possible but she couldn't. Brooke felt herself getting weaker and the last thing she noticed as she lost consciousness was her back hand just landed on a bed._

_Brooke had not told anyone about the rape. She did some research online and found out she was more then likely given a date rape drug and then raped. Brooke didn't even bother going to the police, by the time she even worked up the courage to consider it she had already scrubbed her body clean and the traces of the drug were out of her system. _

_She knew the story's of girls who went to the police only to be laughed out of the station. She knew that the police would think it was her fault and would say she brought it on herself and she shouldn't have been dressed so provocatively or she said yes but was having second thoughts so she screamed rape._

_Brooke didn't want to be weak. She tossed the outfit in the trash the second she got home. She scrubbed herself until her skin started to bleed. She vowed on that day that she would never again get taken advantage of. The sweet, bubbly girl that she was before that night was gone. In her place was cynical bitchy Brooke. She had the perfect excuse to her behavior change; after all she was grieving for her parents. No one knew what truly was going on with her. _

"Your back, I was beginning to think you had forgotten about this place."

Brooke spun around and came face to face with Lucas Roe. The playful smile on his face made Brooke instantly tore Brooke away from her troubling thoughts.

"You know me, busy busy busy." Brooke said sitting on the bleachers and waiting for Lucas to join her.

Brooke James and Lucas Roe did not run in the same social circles. Lucas spent his time hanging out with Brooke's younger sister Haley. In fact Brooke had only referred to him as Pucas since she had known him. Lucas and Nathan were cousins with a long standing family feud, there mothers (Deb and Karen) were sisters and had a falling out when Deb and Dan got married that caused the Scott's and the Roe's to be Tree Hills second most dysfunctional family, surpassed only by the James family . Brooke had grown up hating Lucas because Nathan was her best friend and she hated the friendship Lucas and Haley shared.

"I didn't see you at the game today; I thought you were going to try to regain your spot of the squad."

Brooke sighed and leaned back into the bleachers.

Leave it to Lucas to be her Oprah.

Brooke had accidentally run into Lucas one night while he was playing basketball at the River Court. She was uncharacteristically open about what was going on, they talked, or rather he listened, and Brooke talked. For once Brooke felt it was okay to tell someone what was going on with her. She always felt like an inconvenience to her family and Nathan, and then she found Lucas and he had been helping her.

They were taking things slow. They didn't have a friendship, they had a venting system. They would meet up at the court unplanned and get their issues off their chests. Brooke liked to bitch about her family, and Lucas liked to brood about his. They were the perfect pair in that they wouldn't speak about each others secrets because that would mean they'd have to admit that they talked to each other.

"I didn't see you talk to Nathan." Brooke shot back, and watched as Lucas fell beside her defeated.

"It's too soon." They both said at the same time and shared knowing look.

"You know…." Before Lucas could continue Brookes cell phone started ringing inside her purse.

"It's probably Nathan, now might be a good time for you two to talk." Brooke said trying to locate the ringing device.

Lucas's eyes cloudy with jealousy when he realized how close his cousin was to Brooke and he couldn't help but wonder if they were more then friends.

"Yes but that would mean acknowledging we talk." Lucas replied. He didn't mind telling people that he was "friends" with Brooke, but he understood that Haley would feel betrayed if he did.

"There's always school." Brooke said before flipping open the phone.

"B.James." Brooke said into the device. "Wait, Hales I can't understand you. Calm down. Okay wait, what? Alright I'm on my way."

Brooke was already on her feet before Lucas had a chance to process what was going on.

"Is Haley okay?" He asked increasing his stride to catch up with her. Lucas's heart caught in his throat and Brooke turned to face him, it was the same look that Haley had when she told him her parents died.

"It's Taylor, she overdosed."


End file.
